Time
by Hinata-hime
Summary: [DxM]When in doubt, it was best to forget the past and live in the present. However under the right conditions, the future may just be one to remember. [Complete]
1. The Past: Forgotten

**Disclaimer**: The characters and timelines from Gundam SEED don't belong to me. I only wrote it. 

**A/N**

Will wonders never cease? I never thought I'd write a Gundam fiction…well anyway, onto the important stuff. The story takes place about a year after Gundam SEED ends. So I guess it takes place around the same time as Destiny, but I decided not to follow the plot of that story.

The story itself is 3 chapters long. There's one for every time: past, present, and the future (hence the title). Italics indicate a flashback.

Pairing, as you can tell, is Dearka and Miriallia. Those two are really ignored in the series, yet I love them to death! Anyway, I'd appreciate if you'd review and constructive criticism is always welcome.

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**The Past: Forgotten**

_Blue eyes fluttered slowly open and took in the images around her. Nothing made too much sense. There she lay in a dull room, the only items being the bed, a small table and the window with its faded green colored drapes pulled out to either side. Everything was a blur. This was where exactly? What time? For how long? Why exactly was she so clueless?_

_Just then, the sliding door opened, and a tall, slender female in a nurse's outfit marched in with a clipboard. She gazed surprisingly at the bed where the other lay. "My, my. The Little Miss has awakened. Doctor!" and as fast as she'd come, she had gone. _

_What exactly was this place? A hospital or something like that? She sat up, and stretched the muscles in her arms that felt unusually stiff. Just then, another woman made her entrance, she looking a lot more dominant then the previous. "Morning, Little Miss."_

_She wished to respond, but her throat felt dry and unused. "Good morning?" her question finally came out, but it was very quiet and raspy. Not to mention that her head was killing her at the moment. "W-where am I?"_

_The lady wasted no time in getting to the point. "We're at the hospital at Orb. I'm afraid I have some terrible news. Firstly though, can I have your name?"_

"_Okay," she said a bit more clearly this time, "my name is…" That was strange. She blinked a couple of times. Come to think of it, what was her name? "My name is…"_

"_Your name is Naoko Sakamoto," a new voice piped up from the open doorway. It was a girl who looked no older then 'Naoko', dressed in a purple business suit, sporting blond hair. She walked casually in, brushing past the doctor, who saluted her. "Your name is Naoko, understand?" she asked again, though it was more of a statement. The other nodded slowly, taking everything in. "Now before you start asking questions…may I be alone with M…Naoko for a moment? Thanks for your work, Kayoko-sensei."_

"_Just my job, Representative." She left without a further word, leaving the blonde and Naoko alone._

_The sliding door shut behind her, and she smiled. "It's good to see you awake again. I'm Cagalli Yula Athha, the Representative of Orb. Please just call me Cagalli. We've known each other for a little while." However, Naoko seemed to show no signs of any 'friendliness' for the head of Orb. It was all confusion. "Anyway, I want to explain this all to you right now. Starting with who you are. Naoko, you are a photographer for the Orb daily newspaper, taking shots of the world in its state. You have a home here in this country, but you don't really spend a whole lot of time here because of your job…" She continued to explain several things and always held this odd look in her eyes. Later, she'd distinguish it as sadness._

* * *

Her reflection was the same as always. The dulled blue eyes and a messed head of brown hair. Well at least when she'd just woken up. This was one of the times when she was home, rather then sleeping in a hotel in some remote location where war had broken out.

It seemed weird that she was sent to photograph such images, when she'd been told that most of her memories had been suppressed because of the haunting visions the war she'd been part of several years ago had given her. She wasn't told about any specific details, simply because then those unpleasant dreams and sights would plague her again.

Taking a brush, she sighed, slowly untangling the knots that were being extremely difficult this morning. This was definitely the sign of a bad day ahead. She gazed with long eyes throughout the tiny apartment that seemed rather bare. The curtains only were letting a crack of light through, and the rays of the sun landed atop the dresser with several pictures displayed.

She lay the brush down and walked over to them, picking up the closest one. These had been here ever since she'd come back from the hospital some months ago. The one in her hands was of she as well as four other people. A girl with hot-pink hair, smiling happily next to a boy with tan hair and glasses. The other two were boys, both with dark brown hair, yet one had blue eyes, while the other was tinted purple. She ran her fingers along the glass before setting it down and taking the next picture.

This one was taken while in the army, or so it seemed. It was the same people (add a couple) and they were all hyped up about being able to float around in space was what it looked like. Not to mention the guy with glasses was floating upside down with the oddest of expressions on his face.

She took one of the ones hidden in the corner, and observed it carefully. This one was of her and the boy with the blue eyes. They were both smiling and holding hands. It looked like she and him were having the time of their lives. That's when her chest began to hurt. It was always that picture.

It was then that her eyes traveled to the clock. Great, she was late for her next plane to God-knows-where. She grabbed her pre-packed camera bag and bounded out of the complex. She'd managed to catch a bus that'd take her to the airfield.

Once there, she gave a smile to the pilot. "Sorry I'm late. Ready to go though." She hopped onto the tiny plane and so began the normal routine from there on.

"Please rest awhile, Naoko-san. The area is over three hours away," the pilot instructed.

She nodded and began to drift into thought as the plane lifted into the air.

_"Don't even try to remember the names," Cagalli said later that day, "suppressing memories isn't permanent. Even one little thing could bring all the visions upon you again. Before you wanted nothing of it."_

However, now and then were different. She wanted to know. She felt like an empty person this way. A person who had no past; she had but the present, and no future. What she'd give to remember even half of the things. Her head fell as she fumbled with the lens on her camera.

Her then gazed out the window, looking at a war-bound area that she'd been there it was only a week. It must really have been horrible, to be in this war. Not to mention it was a stupid war, in her opinion. Who really cared if people had they're genes modified anyway? It may have been a controversial matter, but nothing to go to war about.

Imagine all the people dying…and for what? They left behind children, wives (or husbands), loved ones, you name it. People, both Naturals and Coordinators needed to have a better insight on these things. Lacus Clyne, for instance, had one of the sanest ideals of this time. If everyone thought like her, there wouldn't even be a war.

"Naoko-san. We're landing." She nodded and tied her hair back with a green cloth. But enough about the forgotten past, and more about the present photography. "Please don't wander too far, Naoko-san. There were reports of ZAFT soldiers around. Even if we're from Orb, they might not treat us too well once in their command."

"Understood," she replied, and placed the camera strap around her neck. It was always the drill. There were always either the Atlantic Federation or ZAFT still about in zones like these, but they'd left her alone. Still, one could never be too careful. That was exactly the reason why she'd loaded her handgun and placed it in a side pouch before leaving the plane.

It'd been only a few hours that she'd been wandering around, taking snapshots of everything from blown-up buildings to gruesome blood-filled pits where some of the not yet collected bodies lay. The sent had left her nauseous, so she'd sat down on the ruins of a military base.

She'd heard a loud noise overhead. Gazing into the sky, she could see something land in the distance, not too far away. It looked like a battleship. It was probably best to leave then, since she didn't want to interfere with any ZAFT matters.

She walked over the rubble, scraping her legs along the way. Those no longer hurt anymore, but they did stay there for weeks at a time. Climbing over the remnants of a pile of mobile suits and fallen cannons, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

'Strange,' she thought walking over in that direction, 'how come I didn't see this earlier?' She reloaded her camera with a new load of film and took about the whole role on the broken fenced area. There were more bodies in the area then the most part. It must have been a nasty battle here. She was so busy clicking away at the shutter button to notice some small debris fall from the pile of junk above her.

Sighing, she took out the role of film and placed it in her bag, along with the camera itself. It made things difficult, climbing over such hills of scrap with something dangling from her neck. She made it to the top over another broken mobile suit, when she finally clued in to the footsteps behind her. She looked back to the ground and the first thing she saw was the green uniform.

The first reaction she had was, "Oh no! A ZAFT soldier!" She quickly slid down the pile of rubble so that there was at least a broken tool between the two of them. She ran through the rest of the war zone without looking back. What were the chances that he'd follow her all that way? She let go the breath she was unaware of holding when the airfield was in range.

Only, she was stopped in her tracks by a voice. "Mir!" Not knowing exactly who this 'Mir' person was, or whether or not it was some kind of code, she reflexively turned her head back. Big mistake. The soldier in green was catching up. However her feet seemed to be glued in place.

"Mir!" he called again. This time she could get a closer look at him. He looked about her age, maybe a few years older. His blond hair really stood out against the tanned skin. Strange, he looked extremely familiar. Or maybe she'd passed a similar looking guy on the street once. That was more likely.

He was less then two meters when he stopped to catch his breath. "You've sure learned how to run fast," he said smoothly, and running his fingers through his hair like a comb. She gave him a strange look. He was talking as if he knew her? "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" he smiled.

She didn't respond until he came closer. She edged backwards, but not fast enough for him to catch her by the hand and pull her close. Now what was that about ZAFT leaving her alone? His arms were wrapped lightly around her waist. The soldier was a good half a head taller then she was. "Why won't you say anything? Don't tell me you're still miffed about what happened?"

She still wasn't sure what in the world he was talking about, who he was, what were his motives, and some other stuff like that. "W-who are you?" she finally asked.

He blinked in shock for a moment before chuckling. "That wasn't very funny, Mir. Now try saying 'hello'. It would be nice."

This was way too strange for her liking. Summoning up some courage, she fumbled to her pouch and drew the gun. With one swift motion she'd planted it against his chest, a stone-cold glare across her features. "Let go of me now." He was surprised once again by her actions, and slowly backed away. "Now, who are you? And God help me, I'll kill you if I need to."

"M-Mir, hey, hold on a sec here," he held up his hands in defense. They'd stayed like that for a minute or so. "Put that thing away," he said it this time more sternly.

"Leave me be! Go away and I won't shoot."

"Listen here, you…"

"Where the hell are you getting this from? 'Mir' and 'you' and whatnot? If you must know, I'm Naoko, so go bother someone else please."

He didn't respond for a second, taking in what she'd just said. "I get it," he finally said, dropping his hands. "Now, put the gun down." He took a step towards her. She shook her head and held her weapon up with a hard façade. He took another step, and this time, she clicked the trigger into place. "Do you know how dangerous that is to use? Miriallia Haww, you put that gun away right now!"

She froze. Miriallia? Hold on a second, that name was familiar. Too familiar…perhaps because it was her name…her real name. Her hands began to tremble, as things became clearer. Things popped into her head: Archangel, the bridge, Kira, Fllay, Sai. Then she saw a prisoner, a dark cell, yet he was smiling, in a way. He'd been happy to see her. She lowered her weapon and sank to her knees.

'Why now?' she thought dropping the gun from her hands. 'Dearka…go to hell,' she cursed him mentally before shutting her eyes. The headache was back.

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**AN**

Sheesh, I really hope it wasn't too confusing! (If it was I'll explain it next chapter). I did write it at one in the morning after all. So part one out of three done. Let's see how you liked it…


	2. The Present: To Live

**Disclaimer**: The characters and timelines from Gundam SEED don't belong to me. I only own the plot.

**A/N**  
Well, my first reaction was: "Oh my God! People actually like what I wrote!" Thanks to all those who reviewed. Such nice comments helped be write this chapter just a bit faster. For those of you hoping for a slight continuation to where I left off, you a bit out of luck. This is the other side of the story, so it's almost like contrasting actions…in a way.

Just a little side-note here, I really **had** to bring Yzak into this fic. Maybe it's because wherever Dearka is, he is, but really I think I just have this weird obsession over his right now. -laughs- I'm such a moron…anyway, I hope I really don't disappoint anyone with chapter 2!

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**The Present: To Live**

He sat inside the cramped cockpit of his Mobile Suit, just glad that the whole battle was over. His team had just come back from the frontlines, as the EAF retreated once again. He opened the door and walked out to the lift. With one hand, he held onto the cord, and with the other removed his green helmet, letting loose his blond hair. He smoothly walked past the maintenance personnel and heard straight to his quarters.

The sliding door of the ship opened as he stepped into the relatively large room. After all, he was second in command. First in command being his friend…there was a knock on the door, "Dearka, you're wanted on the bridge in an hour." Speak of the devil.

"I'll be there, Yzak," he replied, unbuttoning his green ZAFT coat. He floated over to his bed and eventually softly landed on it. He stared up at the ceiling through amethyst eyes, just glad that ceilings didn't pilot Mobile Suits and shoot at you.

It wasn't really paranoia, more just he'd been thinking a lot more about the whole war issue, and what purpose it really served. Before he'd just done as he was told, seeing as that wasn't a big deal. But ever since the battle of Jachin Due…or was it before that? The Conquest of Boaz, perhaps? No, it must have been during the time Orb had been under attack by the EAF. It was then when he'd gotten thinking about how pointless it all seemed.

At that time he was still with the Archangel. 'The Archangel…' he closed his eyes for a moment. It'd been a year or so since he'd last seen that ship. If it still existed or belonged to the Orb fleet, he wasn't too sure. Either way, daydream any longer and he'd have been late.

He fixed up his hair, closed up his uniform and set out for the bridge. He grabbed onto the moving handrail, saluted other soldiers, just doing the regular drill. He floated through the door and towards his commander in the white uniform. He saluted again, and made his way beside Yzak.

They stood in front of a table that was soon to be filled with holographic charts and maps. "You'd think they'd give us more of a break after that battle. Yet another mission," he sighed drumming his tanned fingers on the table.

"Shut your mouth, Dearka," hissed Yzak, as motioned for the officer to speak.

The table now displayed a map. "This," he said with a pointer, "is the EAF's base in southeastern Eurasia. It's recently been destroyed due to all the rebellions that have broken loose lately. Usually such occurrences wouldn't affect ZAFT in any way. However, it seems that they were assisting in the area, and a fight broke out. The place is a bloody mess now, but there have been reports of survivors, or EAF troops that have escaped and are re-grouping."

"So basically it's an investigation conducted by us," the blond said out of line. This earned him a disapproving glare from his commander.

"You can put it that way," the officer said, folding up the pointer, "we'll use the Mobile Suits to scout the area, and some personnel on foot. The Chairman decided to give the Jule team a break from the front lines. It's also a good time to re-supply and maintenance the ship. The ship will descend in half an hour."

"Sir," the other two saluted as he left the bridge. "I'll stay here, please inform the squad," the silver-haired commanded instructed.

"Right, Yzak," the other began to float off, when his superior cleared his throat. That's right, you had to be formal to him in public. "Excuse me, Commander Jule." He'd said it in a sort of mocking tone, but it was better then nothing.

It only took five minutes to explain everything to the team. They hadn't seemed too thrilled about the idea of going to Earth at the moment, but a relaxing rest sounded fine. He returned to his room to continue his previous train of thoughts.

He remembered quite clearly the day he'd left the Archangel to go back to PLANT. He still wanted to protect his home, incase another outbreak started. He felt as if it was his duty. The day he left, rather, just before, he'd pulled a brunette Natural aside.

_"So that's it, huh? You're still going to fight after going through all that?" she'd asked him in an uncaring manner._

"_You sound thrilled," he'd spoken in return, "and that's my own choice, if I fight or not. I just thought I'd say goodbye to you."_

"_I see. That really wasn't necessary though." With that, she began to walk away in Orb's direction. "Oh, just one thing," she turned, "don't get yourself killed out there, alright?" She didn't wait for him to reply and continued on her way. _

Yes, so he'd stayed alive so far. A promise wasn't something he wanted to break. Well, the chances that he'd ever see her again were pretty slim, since she most likely resided in Orb. It was such a waste, though. He was actually interested in her.

So at the beginning as his first moments on the Legged-Ship it had been a joke. He'd just casually remarked that a Natural was pretty, so what of it? Later on that Natural had decided to come along and attempt to stab him and save him from a gun wound all in the time span of two minutes. So what of it? Later that Natural was the usual to bring him meals, with the occasional odd conversation here and there. So what of it? Later that Natural was the one to return his ZAFT uniform and set him free, so what of it? Once freed, he'd decided to take back his Buster Mobile Suit and protect her ship. So what of it?

Basically speaking, he wasn't quite sure how any of those weird emotions somehow stirred. Either way it had happened and there really wasn't much else to it. However that was the past, and he planned to move on from that. "All hands brace for entering Earth's atmosphere," the warning played on the speakers.

He went over to the desk and stood in front of it. The ship began to shake slightly. He grabbed the back of the chair, not really in any mood to sit down, even thought it probably was safer. But the procedure would only last a couple of minutes, then he'd rejoin the commander on the bridge.

The ship now rocked violently, more so then he'd expected. It gave a sharp jerk, and he went flying backwards, hitting his head on the bed frame. Mental note for next time: heed all re-entry warnings. He remained sitting on the floor, one hand rubbing his aching head.

The floor slowly began to steady once again, and he felt a whole lot heavier then a minute ago. He got up off the floor and headed once again in the direction of the bridge, dusting off his uniform along the way. He walked up next to the commander, who was watching the landscape from the big front view of the ship. "Something wrong, Commander?" he asked, seeing an odd look in his eyes.

"Nothing," the silver-haired man replied, without sparing a glance. The other left it at that, and in turn watch the scenery. An island got closer and closer. That must have been the battlefield that they were talking about earlier.

"We're going in for an earth landing," informed the pilot. "All hands, initiating landing sequence." Within a few minutes, the ship had safely touched-down, and both Mobile Suit pilots set off for the hangar.

He looked up to his unit. He'd been quite careless that last battle. The left arm was completely missing, and his legs had gotten damaged. There was no way he could use it yet. What to do? "Yzak, uh, Commander. I can't use this out here."

The blue-eyed commander stopped and inspected his underling's unit. "Jeez, you said it got damaged but really, Dearka. You should have really been more careful. Now what are we going to do with this…"

"Excuse me, but if it isn't too much to ask, and since it isn't an active battlefield, I'll go out on foot. After all, there may be things closer up that Mobile Suits won't see." Usually he wouldn't be so formal but seeing that his superior was already in a delicate mood, he decided not to push it.

He received an odd look, which caused him to shift uncomfortably. Was it really that bad to set out on foot? It wasn't as if he'd be stepping into a field full of landmines. "Alright," his hotheaded friend finally agreed, "but don't do anything stupid, understand?"

"You can count on that, Almighty."

Right before he turned to leave, those same blue eyes hardened into a glare. "That isn't the best way to start things off either." The other simply waved as he walked away.

When he disembarked the ship a few minutes later, Mobile Suits were walking out of the hangar, and started to make much noise, trampling about on all that scrap metal. Maybe that was a reason he piloted one. There was hardly any noise…while not in battle.

All of the machines headed in one direction. So instead of risking being squashed by one of them, took off in the other direction. He may have battled for years, but this was the first time he'd seen the aftermath of a battle up-close.

Walking more until the ship was out of sight, things looked worse. It wasn't only broken buildings and machines anymore. A new stench filled the air. It was the stench of human blood, dead bodies. That was reason number two why he piloted a Mobile Suit. One couldn't smell such things as nauseating as this.

He covered the lower half of his face with his hand. It didn't help with the sickening feeling too much, but it would do better then nothing at all. His eyes roamed over too a broken fenced area. There in a pit, must have been at least fifty bodies. He cringed. What a horrible sight.

He moved on without looking back. Maybe it'd been a bad idea to come out on foot. That way, he wouldn't have seen such things from a front row seat. He reached some tall piles of what looked like Mobile Armor remains. It was probably easier to climb over them then to go around. Must have been quite a battle.

Once at the top, he wasn't exactly prepared for what awaited him. There was someone at the bottom of the man-made mountain he currently was crouching on. 'A girl?' he thought, surprised, and ducked out of sight, but readied his handgun.

She wasn't doing anything bad, though. She was taking pictures, so it seemed. He leaned over for a better view, but in the process loosened some scrap. It fell down to her feet. He ducked out of sight again, slowly looking for her reaction. Thankfully, she hadn't seemed to notice.

He watched her finally get up, and climb up another mountain of junk. Not exactly sure what triggered him to do it, he slid down the pile and looked up to her. She was a fast one. That time, she took notice. As she turned her face, something hit him like a ton of bricks. That girl had a strange resemblance to someone he knew.

Without warning, she'd disappeared over the pile. Silently cursing under his breath, he followed. The pilot wondered how someone like her could be so fast…for a Natural. But at that rate, he'd eventually loose her, especially since he could see an airfield in the distance. He wasn't too sure if it belonged to the Earth forces, but there was no risk-taking like this. So he took a chance as he slid down the final pile.

"Mir!" he called out, silently hoping that it was her. To his joy, she turned her head and stopped running. "Mir!" he continued to run up to her, but stopped before her to catch his breath. Now that they were closer, he could see that it indeed was her. "You've sure learned how to run fast." He tried to fix his hair by running his fingers lightly through the blond strands. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

When she didn't answer, he boldly caught her by the waist and drew her close. "Why won't you say anything? Don't tell me you're still miffed about what happened?" was she still mad at him leaving like that? Or was it something else that was bothering her? Either way, he didn't quite know.

"W-who are you?" he heard her say.

The question caught him off guard. It wasn't like her to joke around like this. Well maybe it was, but why would she say something like that? "That wasn't very funny, Mir. Now try saying 'hello'. It would be nice."

The next part happened in what seemed like the blink of an eye. She'd placed a gun right to him. Something strange was definitely going on. "Let go of me now." Not testing her, he backed away slowly, but still stood a mere few feet apart. "Now, who are you? And God help me, I'll kill you if I need to."

"M-Mir, hey, hold on a sec here," he held up his hands in defense. Seeing the look on her face, though, he decided to be a little less easygoing this time around. "Put that thing away." His tone was a lot more serious.

"Leave me be! Go away and I won't shoot!" she sounded almost scared.

He wasn't really in the mood for games now. "Listen here, you…"

She cut him off. "Where the hell are you getting this from? 'Mir' and 'you' and whatnot? If you must know, I'm Naoko, so go bother someone else please."

He let what she'd said sink in. No, Naoko didn't exist. He was sure this was the Miriallia he knew. Then what…then he thought back to after the war. She'd been awfully depressed, and often cried when she was alone, (he'd walked in on her once). But she was too sensible to be brainwashed, right? Yet, it seemed to make sense.

"I get it," he finally said, dropping his hands. "Now, put the gun down." He hesitantly took a step towards her, once twice. She seemed out of her wits at this point, and clicked the trigger into place. "Do you know how dangerous that is to use? Miriallia Haww, you put that gun away right now!"

She seemed to be having a mental battle after he'd said her name. She looked like the time she'd tried to kill him aboard the Archangel. Her hands had dropped the weapon, and slowly, her entire body followed suit. "Miriallia!" he swiftly caught her before she hit the pieces of metal and cement on the ground. She'd completely blacked out.

"Damn," he spat out frustrated. What was he going to do with a girl from Orb? He didn't want to risk the airfield. "Great, Yzak will kill me…" without a second thought, he lifted her with ease, and ran back to his ZAFT ship.

* * *

**A/N**  
You know, I really liked the first chapter better. I think I summed up most of my ideas then. Oh well…again, I really hope it wasn't confusing (it's one in the morning yet again…I really need to write at a better time…) Just one more chapter left! And sorry if it's going to be a long update, guys. I'm leaving on vacation for 2 weeks come July 1st. as soon as I get home though, I'll update! I promise! Until then, hugs! 


	3. The Future: Remembered

**Disclaimer: **The characters and timelines from Gundam SEED don't belong to me. Just the plot.

**A/N**

Hey readers! -starts singing- Guess who's back? Back again! -looks at everyone's scared face- Ok I'll stop...(I never really liked that song anyway...) But seriously, Hime is back with the final chapter! Fisrt off, I want to thank all the faithfull reviewers, because you all motivated me to write faster then I normally do! Second, I want you to know that I wrote this God-knows-how-many feet up in the air (yup, on the plane) so forgive me about the weirdness of ow this final chapter turned out. Third, in chapter 1 I started with a flashback. Since this is called the future, it's only right I end it with a 'flashforward', right? Fourth (yes, this is the last thing...), forgive the OOC-ness of the characters. Again, it WAS the cabin pressure getting to me. Plus I wanted to add something somewhat funny to the story. So that's it! Enjoy the future!

* * *

**The Future: Remembered **

Her field of vision was completely black. Well, that was because her eyes were closed, and she really had no energy to open them either. Her head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, or it'd just been used as a punching bag. The voices outside didn't help too much either.

The ZAFT commander was really in one of his moods today. Poor Dearka was the one who had to suffer his wrath now. Yzak shoved some folded clothes towards his friend rather forcefully. He'd let out a grunt, as the area that he'd thrown them at was his gut. "Yzak…"

"You should have seen the look I got when I asked for these!" he said furiously, folding his arms. "It's one fact that it's hard to give a civilian a uniform, but it really wasn't an objection since I asked for it. But when I asked for a uniform for that Natural, I might as well have said 'Yeah, I'm going to sleep with her tonight' and gotten the same reaction!"

Yes, Commander Jule in super-pissed mode. "You're too uptight, Yzak," sighed the blond, re-gaining his posture. "I bet it wasn't that bad. Thanks for doing this for me, though. She might cause some problems, but I'm sure she'll completely understand."

Before walking back to his duty, he told Dearka one last thing, "I don't see why you're so fixated on this woman. It's because of people like you that third generation coordinators are rare these days."

The tanned coordinator grinned, "Well if you're so worried about that, maybe you should go find yourself a nice coordinator girlfriend."

It was at that moment when a girl from the bridge floated up towards them. "Commander Jule, the Pilot is requesting you." Her pale hand rested on Yzak's shoulder, while the other tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear.

"Right, I'll be right there," he floated alongside the girl, Sapphire, glancing back at Dearka, who gave them a friendly (but suggestive) wink. Yzak gave his 'I'll-kill-you-when-I-get-off-duty' glare.

He looked at the clothes in his hands; it was the green ZAFT uniform, much like what he was wearing. He stepped inside his quarters, and looked upon the still form lying in his bed. It wasn't until he'd gotten closer, though, before he noticed her eyes were half open. "Hey…" he whispered, shaking her shoulder slightly.

They opened a bit wider, and she now seemed conscious of what was happening around her. "D…Dearka? What are you doing here? Where am I?"

"A ZAFT ship…" he began to explain. That was enough for the brunette to hear, before having the great urge to throw something. The closest something happened to be a pillow, which she threw will all force she could muster, and squirm out of the bed. That is, until the zero-gravity made it quite hard. "Miriallia! Hey, come back here!" he pulled her down again.

"Let me go!" she protested, trying to wriggle free, but wasn't any match for a coordinator. Then after a minute, she stopped struggling, partially from the headache. "What difference does it make? It's not like I have anywhere to go in **space**!"

"Please," Dearka tried to remain as calm as possible. If someone heard he was having problems with the natural, they'd assign someone else to look after her. "I didn't really have any other option. Going to another nation's territory was absolutely out of the question, and I wasn't about to leave you lying in a pile of scrap metal." She looked like she was going to protest, but he continued, "Or should I have left you there and you'd just continue being 'Naoko'."

Miriallia remain quiet, thoughts running through her head. Things were still very jumbled in her brain. Not everything was clear. She was then handed a pile of clothes. "Here. Go in there and take a shower. I think you'd want to, after being out for a good day and a bit."

"I'd never put on a ZAFT uniform. That's traitorous against Orb."

"Humor me here," he replied quickly, "Orb will forgive you. Besides, if you were to walk around like that, who knows what kind of abuse you'd get." Seeing as she wouldn't win this one no matter how hard she tried, she took the clothes from his hands and floated over to the bathroom.

Inside, she turned on the water, knowing exactly how to function it, remembering the Archangel. Thinking about those things made her head hurt, though. Even if she'd regained parts of her memory, there still were things that were foggy.

She had to admit, the hot water made her feel a bit better. She watched the drops fall from her skin and into the drain. She wasn't sure why it had fascinated her, but no matter. She had nothing better to reminisce about.

On the other side of closed door, the coordinator was preoccupied with his own thoughts. He'd been slightly overjoyed that he'd gotten to see Miriallia once again, but now things really wouldn't be the same. Sure she'd remembered a few things, but what about everything else? He wasn't sure to tell her anything, since it might stir a repeat of 'The Archangel Attempted Murder/Rescue' as he liked to call it.

Not to mention he'd have to deal with the council most likely. Plus add on the hell he'd receive from Yzak, which he partially obtained already.

Then again, he thought who he was doing it for. He gazed back to the door. She was worth it, or at least he hoped she was. At that moment, she walked back in, sporting the green uniform. She was scowling slightly, tugging on the hem on the skirt. "Don't worry, you look fine," he said quickly, seeing her discomfort.

She went to sit beside him, giving him the evil eye. "Don't give me that," she spoke coolly once facing him. Her remained silent, in thought, trying to word things properly. Dearka waited patiently. Finally with a sigh, she continued, "Look. I just wanted to tell you there are still things I'm not clear on. There's especially this one thing that keeps bothering me. It was a picture I had back at home, with me and this boy. But…every time I think about it, it hurts right here." She placed her hand over on the left side of her chest.

He assumed she meant her dead natural boyfriend. He wasn't going to say anything about that to her, since then she might go crazy again and faint. "And if you know, don't say anything either. I'll find out on my own terms, thank you very much." Her arms here folded and she looked quite stern.

Without thinking, he smiled, "Deal."

Then there was an awkward silence between them. "So…um…where are we going, exactly?" she asked somewhat nervously.

"The PLANT colonies," he replied. Maybe that was a bad move, as her eyes widened.

"PLANT? Are you serious? No! No, no, no, I will **not** go to PLANT! It was bad enough wearing a uniform, but going there is just as bad! I'm not allowed! I'll be a traitor to my country!"

Dearka backed up at the sudden volume change. "H-hey! Why do you freak out so easily now?"

"I am **not** freaking out! I'm just upset!"

Okay, fine…he really didn't want to argue. "Sure, but will you pipe down a little bit? Things won't be good if my commander shows up."

At that moment, the sliding door opened, revealing the person who seemed very displeased with the noise. The silver haired commander folded his arms crossly. "Dearka, I thought you said you could keep her under control. And you, stop your whining."

Miriallia turned towards Yzak, not caring how important he was in society at this point. The tanned skin coordinator made an X with his hands, but too late. "You!" she pointed a finger, "shut up! I don't need two people telling me to calm down!"

The other looked taken aback. That was a first, someone telling him to 'shut up'. Right… "What did you say to me?"

All Dearka could do was rest his head in his hand. This would be a very long few days…

* * *

_"Alright, well see you later, Kira, Lacus!" Miriallia waved and set out in her own direction. It was getting late, and she still needed to take a shower, dry her hair, do her makeup…and the list went on. She had been on her way home when the couple had passed her on the sidewalk._

_She hopped on a bus that would lead her just in front of her house. It wasn't to crowded this Saturday afternoon. She paid her fare and took a seat near the back of the bus. She watched the citizens of Orb come and go quickly out of the window. _

_Before she knew it, she was up the stairs to her tiny apartment, that was one of a few flats on the block. She fumbled through her purse, pushing aside empty film canisters for the most part. She unlocked the door and stepped into the rather tiny place. _

_She dropped her things in the hall and kicked off her shoes. She continued down the carpeted hall towards her room, and into the bathroom. There she took a nice long shower, and washed her hair with jasmine scented shampoo. She'd been preferring that one lately. _

_Stepping out, she quickly dried herself off, and put on a long blue robe. She wrapped her hair in a smaller towel, then opened the door to her room, breathing in cool air, instead of humid. She walked over to her dresser, and gazed upon the pictures. _

_She picked up the first one; it was the Archangel crew right after they'd left Orb. She pushed that one aside and grazed her fingers upon the picture with her and her first boyfriend. Miriallia lifted it and took it with her as she sat on her bed. _

"_Tolle…" she whispered his name, but it didn't hurt as much anymore to look at him then before. Her finger slid along the glass, wondering if he'd just spring through the picture like the whole thing was some sort of big joke. That incident had been forever ago, though. _

_Her bedroom door opened suddenly, and she quickly placed the picture face down. She glared at the figure in the doorway. "Ever heard of knocking?"_

"_Ever heard of locking your door?" he replied hotly, leaning against the doorframe. He was dressed in a suit, all prepared for the festivities of the night. "Oh by the way, you look gorgeous. Is that the latest fashion?" he pointed to her robe and toweled hair. _

_She grabbed a pillow and threw it towards him. He shut the door to avoid getting hit, then reopened it, chuckling. "A little violent today, aren't we?"_

"_Out, Dearka, before I personally skin you alive." He took his warning and closed the door once again. She heard his footsteps along the hall. _

_She sighed and took the picture of her and Tolle from the bed. It'd been about a year since the war had been over, and things were anywhere from normal. Of course there were still the occasional conflict between naturals and coordinators, but nothing to go to war for. Miriallia had gone back to Orb, still working as a photographer for the paper, but locally now. Dearka…well that'd been a little complicated. After the war was once again over, he'd temporarily disembarked from ZAFT and made his home in Orb too, with only the promise he'd join the PLANT if war should happen to break out once again. _

_Well, when he made his home in Orb, it was more like Miriallia's home…in Orb. It was actually Cagalli who'd suggested the idea. Let's just say he'd been rather amused at the thought. There probably wasn't any surprise in seeing there had been some kind of chemistry between them, or there could easily be._

_She hoped Tolle wasn't mad, about her moving so quickly. Then again, all Tolle ever wanted was for her to be happy. So she could live with Dearka, and still honor Tolle's memory, right? _

_A knock on the door startled her. "Are you daydreaming or what? We're going to miss the party at this rate. And someone won't be pleased at that."_

"_I'm coming, just wait a minute!" she called out, unwrapping her now dry hair. Quickly she threw on her outfit that was pre-planned, and quickly styled her hair. Within another ten minutes, she opened the door. "Okay, done. Happy?"_

_He bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek, "Very." Then he breathed in deeply. "You use that jasmine shampoo stuff again?"_

"_You're sharp," she said, pointed to her nose on the way out the door. _

"_But of course." It was kind of funny, their relationship. From murderous one encounter, to living together a few years later. Not only that, people actually wondered if they were together, or they were bitter enemies, she constantly biting his head off. _

'_Perhaps', she thought, 'it's Tolle's idea of a joke.'_

**END**

* * *

**A/N **

...yes...okay so it was abrupt! Sue me! (actually, don't...) Either way I babled enough up there so now I just wanted to take this space to say 2 things. One is to tell you guys about 2 new fics that are slowly making it's way onto my computer. Dearka/Miriallia for both of course!

First one which will probably go up first is called: Inspiration. It's a one-shot, and not too much of the pairing in it (well it's about them but I mean it's a light pairing...if you get what I mean). Anyway, Dearka's a university student at Orb, sitting in the park, looking for something to fill his sketchbook with. He needs a really good drawing to get this big part of his mark. So who shows up but Miriallia, waiting on a park bench for someone. Bingo! Just the inspiration he needed! (Did I mention this is totally AU?)

Next one is a multi-chapter AU fic. Romance is the **key **with this one, plus the other major part is drama. (I'm just so darn evil, making it hard for them.) Here's how: 'The Game of Love' works. The Elthmans and the Hawws have been divorced for a couple of years, and somehow as fate should have it, Dearka's father and Miriallia's mother start to formally date. It's only suspected that the two should soon be engaged. But the kids who have still never met each other are far from thrilled. Especially when the do meet one another. A short while later the tables turn, and the two aren't quite sure how to handle this newfound love. Especially since it'll soon be illegal. So who'se happiness do they value more? There own? or their parents? (Find out!)

...I'm especially excited to write The Game of Love. I have such thoughts buzzing through my head now! -insert evil laugh- so what do you guys think? Let me know okay?

Last but not least a BIG HUGE thanks to all the reviewers (again!) I wouldn't have been able to continue without your support! Hugs to all! Hime is out (for now...)


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